"The German Gestus and Gebdrde, like their English equivalent, "gesture," derive from the Latin verb gerere meaning "to carry"—in German tragen, as in the verb ubertragen: to translate. As a carrying movement, gesture poses the question of value and conservation principles. Meaningfulness is what makes movement a gesture. Thus… Freudian psychoanalysis converts fleeting movements into gestures-infinitely small, we would say divisible, movements now become the bearers of obscure meaning. As a result, the everyday takes on a gestural capacity."
Kevin McLaughlin, "The Coming of Paper: Aesthetic Value from Ruskin to Benjamin." MLN, Vol. 114, No. 5, Comparative Literature Issue (Dec., 1999), pp. 962-990. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3251038
